Blood. Gore. Violence. Comedy. A zany spin on the modern mafia in the “old country” is the best way I can describe Mafia Mamma. My teen daughter and I both found the movie entertaining, and we laughed out loud almost the entire time we were watching it at Coronado’s Village Theatre.
An American middle-aged suburban mom going through a midlife crisis, played by Toni Collette, has a son headed off to college and her male counterparts at a marketing firm constantly belittle her. She is plagued by school age drama mixed with the pitfalls of modern married life. Amid the chaotic events going on her life, she gets a call from a woman named Bianca, played by Monica Bellucci, about her grandfather’s death and is informed that she must travel to Italy to take care of his affairs. From there, her journey to become a powerful Mafia Mamma (aka Mob Boss) begins.
The Godfather was referenced a few times in the movie, however, her ascension to becoming a Don in no way compares to Vito Corleone’s smooth and sophisticated transition to power. She thought her grandfather’s funeral would be an excuse to travel and live out the romantic fantasies she had of life in Italy. She hoped to experience the cliché that is Eat, Pray, Love. Instead, her character Kristin succeeds in answering the two ageless questions of accidental tourists in trouble, “Who? Me?!”
My daughter and I went to see the movie without having seen the trailer, which I highly recommend for most movies. It’s so much easier to enjoy the zingers you aren’t expecting, and Mafia Mamma proved both charming and full of quotable moments. Watching Kristin stumble into her new role as a crime lord showed how most of us would probably react – like a fish out of water. She was clueless, confused, and out of her element, yet somehow she makes it work and earns four thumbs up.
Movie Times: click here for showtimes
Genre: Action. Comedy. Crime.
Rating: R for bloody, violence, sexual content and language.
Runtime: 2 hrs 34 min
Director: Catherine Hardwicke.
Actors: Toni Collette. Monica Bellucci. Sophia Nomvete.
